The Opposite of Love
by jayer
Summary: Emma has found herself back at the hospital and pissed off at everyone. When a crisis hits, will she stay separate or stand beside her 'brothers'. Post Guilted Age


She couldn't sleep. The day was uttering exhausting and her body wanted to sleep but her mind was reeling. It was not unlike how her body would be hungry but she just couldn't make herself eat. Exactly like Leo's friend said.

Leo. That whole thing was beyond messed up. Leo. Jordi. Kara. She was starting to think that perhaps she screwed up picking him. Sure she and Leo had history but Jordi was cute and sweet. And alone. He needed someone, anyone. And he reached out to her. Wasn't that why he asked her and not Kara to dance with him. Wasn't that why he found her a new red band. Wasn't that why he wanted their feelings to feel together. She had tried to tell herself that their walk back to the hospital was awkward because he liked her and she didn't like him. She liked Leo. And Leo liked her. But maybe it was awkward because she did like him. And Leo. Or maybe she liked both of them but didn't 'like' them. She was so confused about all of it. And being confused she made a total mess of everything. Kara was wrong about one thing. Emma didn't just hurt herself. Maybe her body. But she did a pretty good job of hurting Jordi emotionally. After his mother getting his hopes up and then leaving, it was no big wonder that he kind of lost it when Emma rejected him. Left again. Emma did that. She hurt him.

And Leo. But instead of punching someone, he had sex with Kara. She wanted to believe that it was just some weird crisis thing. He was lonely, upset about their fight, blah blah. And it just happened. Or maybe Kara seduced him. Or

Who was she kidding. Teenage boy with a chance to get lucky, especially with a hot chick who was popular and a cheerleader and had actual breasts, who wouldn't take it. That's all it was. She hated that he would be like that, do something like that.

Emma tried to get comfortable, tried to will herself to go to sleep. Like she willed herself not to eat before. But it did no good. She knew what the trouble was. She was lonely. Sure she had her own room before but they would hang out until the nurses chased them off to bed. She and Leo would text for hours. She could talk to Jordi without feeling like he'd read too much into things. She even found herself missing Kara's crass, bitchy jokes about her anorexia.

But at least she had Kara, sort of. She hated what had happened and at the same time she was grateful. It showed her that she and Leo weren't some fairy tale couple. She had been forced to face the truth. Maybe it was for the best, maybe they should have stayed friends and only that.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Maybe she could make amends with Jordi. Try to be friends. Be there when he needed to talk, needed to cry. Leo was going home soon which would make things easier, less awkward without that whole break up thing in the air. Leo would be gone and Jordi would be alone. Maybe he'd be willing to give her a chance. Just like Kara did. Even if it was only because she was scared and freaked out.

Kara. What was going on with all of that. No one had told her. None of them had been to see her since Kara was kicked out by one of the doctors.

Emma sat up in bed. Thinking wasn't doing her any good. Maybe she needed to try doing. She'd stop thinking about how she might fix things with Jordi and just go talk to him. She'd stop thinking about how Kara might be feeling and go ask her.

She slid her feet into the her slippers. She stuck her head out the door and found the nurses desk momentarily empty. She quickly, well as quickly as she could, walked to the elevator.

As she got off the elevator, a voice caught her attention.

"Poor kid." She heard one of the nurses saying. Emma tucked herself against the wall to listen.

"You know he was going to go home today. Parents drove down to surprise him."

"Hell of a way to find out."

A beeping noise interrupted the conversation. Emma continued down the hall half wondering who they were talking about.

Kara wasn't in her room. The bed looked unmade. She was probably sulking outside of Hunter's room trying to see him.

As she reached Leo and Jordi's room, her heart sunk. Jordi and Dash were sitting on a gurney outside of the room, their gazes looking inside. As she got closer, Dash noticed her approach and nudged Jordi. Neither of them said a word.

Emma paused outside the room and looked. Leo was curled up in his bed, crying.

He was the one they were talking about. Had to be. What was it he found out? Did it really matter? In that split second Emma decided it didn't. All she needed to know was that Leo was upset and despite what he had done and said, she still cared about him. Maybe she wasn't 'in love' with him but she had to admit that she did love him.

Neither Jordi nor Dash tried to stop her as she walked inside. Leo didn't even look up or say anything. She pushed the IV stand out of the way and climbed up on the side of the bed. She reached over and softly brushed a tear off Leo's cheek. He glanced up for a moment before putting his hand in hers.

She wasn't sure how long she sat like that before Leo let her laid down on the bed, wrapping her arms around him, his head resting on her chest. She vaguely recalled Jordi draping a blanket over them and dimming the lights over Leo's bed before softly dragging a chair over to sit beside them. In the shadows she could see Dash curled up on the old love seat.

She was sure the nurses would have a fit, that she was out of her room, that she was actually in a bed with a boy. She didn't care. Her friends needed her, this is where she belonged.


End file.
